1998 V70 NA M56 Crank (compression, spark, fuel ok) No-start - [incorrect install of distributor drive plate ] Topic is solved

[abscate]

Need help with this one - Ill post a Too Long didn't read in post number 2 with my current ideas after this long one.

Car 1998 V70 NA M56 - Running fine until January 2020. Radiator hose burst, overheated and lost compression in at least cylinders 2 and 3.

We had the head reworked by Clearwater, installed with Elwis head gasket set. Engine has been oiled and turned over semi-weekly.

Compression - Can only do cold compression test. After cranking, cylinder 2 and sometimes 3 show low (100-120 psi compression) a dollop of SAE 10W-30 takes them to 180. All other cylinders read 180psi cold

Timing - Cams checked for alignment at 1998 timing marks, rear cam slots confirmed. Cams moving as expected.

Spark - New cap, rotor, plugs. Bougicord wires working fine before - have confirmed white spark on all five cylinders removed from engine. Have covered OBQ by installing old parts which were working at time of overheat.

Fuel delivery - gross
Confirmed35-42 psi at fuel rail with gauge. Fuel pump spins up and sounds healthy

Fuel delivery - injectors - Removed entire fuel rail and observed all five injectors are delivering what appear to be normal spritzes. Plugs slightly damp with fuel. Slight fuel smell at exhaust.

Spark timing - have swapped cam and crank sensors with know to be good kit. Have triple checked plug wire order against primary reference material

Ether - I did not get running on ether, I did get an intake manifold backfire which blew off snorkel.

I am not getting any ignition - no cylinder is firing at all.

[abscate]

TLDR version

Have timing, compression, fuel, spark to all cylinders - cranks but does not fire any cylinders.

Obscure things that are left after the diagnosing.

Plugged exhaust from animal intrusion - do get slight fuel smell at exhaust

ECU failure - have seated.reseated ECU 4 times - it was left out of socket for 6 months

Wiring rodent damage?

CAM CRANK sensor interference?

Did Dum Dum put the cams in the right place?

Is there a fault in the reworked head that I can troubleshoot?

[abscate]

Coil module has not been checked or swapped - Im using the white spark diagnostic as a test for that, but perhaps I can drill on that part a bit.

I’ve also confirmed cams and hardware are rotating correctly for both intake and exhaust

[abscate]

You guys with pre 1999 manuals, does the clutch switch inhibit cranking only like a 1999 or does inhibit ignition too!

[SonicAdventure]

Thought of another thing: what about the coolant temp sender? If the car overheated was that cooked as well?

[abscate]

Coil module checking

At threaded pins on coil primary 1.1 ohm, sounds right

At connnector, 2 kOhm.. sounds wrong

And at secondary 15KOhm Sounds high 2x

Will check specs

[callahanoffroad]

Clutch switch. I can start my 95/94 with the clutch fully engaged. So no need to push the clutch to start.

Three things needed to fire an engine, air, fuel, and spark.

You have spark at the plugs so they should fire. It's possible that there isn't sufficient spark at the coil. Mine went bad and did the same thing. Just swap quickly with a known good.

Thoughts: make sure your maf isn't melted after that front fire... Not speaking from experience or anything. If it is just unplug it.

[SonicAdventure]

Re: front fire? I thought this was just a head job after a brief overheat. Was there a fire? If so that opens other possibilities.

+1 on the MAF though, but if these cars will run (somewhat) with the MAF unplugged not sure that is what is holding up the works in this case.

[FLXC90]

Ether - I did not get running on ether, I did get an intake manifold backfire which blew off snorkel. was it just swamped with ether, or does this indicate firing with the intake valve open?

[volvolugnut]

You have spark at the plugs, BUT do you have spark at the proper time in the cycle? This has a distributor, right? Did you remove the distributor doing work? Try using an old timing light to check proper spark timing. Distributors can be tricky to get proper spark timing.

volvolugnut